Proposed amendment to the Motor Fuel Composition and Content Regulations 1999
Seeks views on extending the requirement for filling stations to sell super unleaded petrol which contains no more than 5% ethanol.
The vast majority of the UK petrol fleet is compatible with E10 fuel (petrol with 10% ethanol content), but there are still a significant number of vehicles - around 12% or 2.5 million cars - which are classified as non-compatible.
The roll out of E10 is a commercial decision and it may be possible that in certain areas E10 will replace premium E5 grade petrol (petrol which contains no more than 5% ethanol).
The government is proposing to extend the current legal requirement for a ‘protection’ grade - for engines that are not compatible with E10 petrol - for a further 3 years, to the end of 2016. This will mitigate the risk of limited availability of an E5 grade fuel while there are still a significant number of non-compatible vehicles in circulation.